One Kiss, Three Kids, and a Dog
by JenniferJF
Summary: My story for the SJ Gateworld Ficathon, so SJ ship of course. She asked for UST to RST, and old team. Which was tough since I don't like writing contradictory to canon... Hope you all enjoy. And I'm still working on my LiS tag. Promise.
1. Apart

For what must have been the fiftieth time that day, Sam looked up at the mantle clock. Her manuscript was nearly three weeks overdue and she'd promised her publisher it would be in by the end of the month. She'd had all week free of distractions to work on it, and if she didn't get it done…. She bent her head back to the laptop, determined to finish it.

Several hours later, Sam was nearly done. She typed in the last sentence: "Ultimately and inevitably, once the complexity was understood and the designs perfected, the potential of the reactor was limited not by potential power output, but by the scarcity of Naquadah with which to run it. That, however, is another story." She quickly reread her last chapter, edited a bit, and, before she could change her mind, sent the final segment of her manuscript to her editor.

"There," she murmured to herself, "that should make 'em happy." Since the Stargate program had gone public several years ago, she had been deluged with requests from various scientific communities for books on a multitude of topics, and, having retired from active duty herself earlier that year, she was finding filling all those requests to be more than a full time job itself. "Well," she amended to no one, "make 'em happy for the moment."

She looked down at her screen again, at the open document still sitting on her desktop, and reread the last line. _Another story_. Yeah, she thought, remembering all the times they'd tried to fill their need for that rare element, naquadah. Oh boy, did she have stories. Sam couldn't help but glance at the portion of her desktop wallpaper picture she could see beneath the word processor window, at the faces revealed there, and her mind wandered to one story in particular. To one time she might have lost it all before she'd even had it…

* * *

"Just a standard recon, my ass…." Colonel Jack O'Neill mumbled just loud enough to be overheard by the rest of his team.

Behind him, Major Samantha Carter glanced across at her teammate, Teal'c. What else was new? However, they were both good enough soldiers to refrain from the obvious response. Daniel Jackson, however, had no such restraint. "But Jack, if they really do use naquadah in those torches—"

The Colonel cut him off. "I know. That's why we're going. That's why General Hammond agreed to these negotiations. I'm just saying..."

"Maybe the fact that the village is so far from the 'gate is a good thing," Daniel interjected. "I mean, maybe it means the Goa'uld don't regularly harvest the naquadah."

"That is unlikely," Teal'c said. "This address was amongst those found on Abydos. It is more likely the settlement is located near the ore deposits to facilitate mining."

"Well, this road," Daniel gestured to the dirt path they were following through the woods, "does indicate some form of regular traffic between the village and the 'gate."

"Yes," Teal'c agreed, "this seems most likely."

"Great. So, not only am I missing the Cubs play the Cardinals, but I might play ball with a bunch of Jaffa instead?"

"Indeed."

Jack glanced back at Carter. "You sure you need this stuff?"

"Yes, sir. I mean, the potential power output of even one of those reactors—"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Uh-uh-uh… No. I believe you, Carter. And, more importantly, Hammond does. I was just hoping for beer and pizza instead of M.R.E.s for dinner…"

"Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll invite us to dinner." Jack glared at Daniel, who was only trying to be helpful. Unfortunately, they had not had much luck with local food in the past. "Or, not.. M.R.E.'s are good."

As it turned out, the villagers did invite them to dinner, which, to facilitate negotiations, they did in fact eat. It wasn't half bad, either.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Sometime late that night, Sam sat at the door of the tent SG-1 had been given to sleep in, pulling her turn on watch. She looked out across the moonlit village. There was a whole lot of nothing going on. She glanced back into the interior of the tent at her sleeping teammates. Well, technically Teal'c was Kel'no'reeming, but it meant much the same. Daniel, next to him, mumbled something, talking even in his sleep. She smiled, and her gaze traveled across the campfire to Colonel O'Neill.

He lay sprawled on his belly. His face, turned towards the fire, was clearly visible in what remained of its glow. The features which he kept so carefully controlled while awake were fully relaxed in sleep. The shadows cast by the dim light accentuated the curves of his brow and chin, the smoothness of his cheeks, the fullness of his lips --

Sam turned to look back out across the village. Nothing moved in the darkness and there were no sounds save the normal night noises which seemed to be heard on every planet they visited. She thought about the day's negotiations. Things seemed to be going well, the natives receptive to trading naquadah for advanced farming techniques and assistance setting them up. Unfortunately, Teal'c's initial assessment had been correct and most of the naquadah mined was needed as a tribute for the minor Goa'uld Mishta who controlled the local population.

Still, anything was better than nothing. She let herself look back into the tent once more. She hadn't been exaggerating when she'd explained to General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill how necessary obtaining more naquadah was for her continued experimentation with the naquadah reactor. She had almost exhausted her initial supply, and she couldn't bear the thought of waiting too long. The things they could do with such a powerful and small energy source – She smiled as she watched Jack sleep. Thankfully, he had understood the potential as well and, consequently, her desire to quickly obtain more of the rare mineral. If he hadn't supported her when General Hammond had suggested they wait until SG-9, the SGC's primary negotiators, had returned from P3X-571… Well, there was no knowing how long it might have delayed her experiments.

As if sensing her gaze, the Colonel stirred in his sleep. Before she could look away, his eyes opened, chocolate brown eyes staring straight into hers. Feeling absurdly guilty, she quickly glanced back outside, but not before catching the knowing smile which lit his face.

His voice drifted out to her. "Quiet night, huh?"

She nodded, still not quite trusting her voice. There was a smugness in his tone which made it clear he had gotten the wrong impression from finding her watching him.

"How long have you been on watch?"

She checked her Timex. The actual time was of course meaningless under the circumstances, but it was just over an hour into her hour and a half of watch. "Daniel woke me up about an hour ago, sir. Everything's been pretty quiet since then."

"Well, since I'm up, why don't I take over?"

"No, sir, I'm fine here. Why don't you try to get some more sleep?" She really hated it when he did that. She was perfectly capable of completing her turn at watch.

A rustling behind her made it clear he was completely ignoring her. As he sat down next to her, he tried to reassure her, "Of course, Carter. I just know I'm not going to get right back to sleep, and it's my turn anyway in less than an hour. I figured rather than both of us sitting here…" He shrugged helplessly next to her in the semi-darkness.

She glanced over at him, unable to resist smiling. "Thank you, sir. I am sort of tired…"

"Good." He patted her shoulder, and froze in the act. They both glanced down at his hand before he quickly pulled it back.

She sighed, getting up. "Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, Carter. Sweet dreams."

Yeah, right.


	2. Ambush

It seemed Sam had barely set her head down before she was being shaken awake once more. She opened her eyes to see Colonel O'Neill kneeling over her, Teal'c and Daniel awake beside him. Instantly awake thanks to years of training and experience, she whispered as she reached for her P-90, "What is it?"

"We've got company," O'Neill whispered back.

Great. "Jaffa?" The Colonel nodded. Fantastic. Timing perfect as always.

Echoing her thoughts, he added, "Perfect timing, as always."

She nodded and smiled despite herself. "Yes, sir."

"Back to the 'gate, Carter." When she opened her mouth to protest, he quickly explained, "For a few days. We'll finish here once the Jaffa have left. Now…" He gestured towards the back of the tent.

After grabbing her pack, Sam took point as directed. She slid easily under the bottom edge of the canvas, the rest of the team following in file. She led them into the woods surrounding the village, angling around back towards the 'gate. After an hour or more of silent walking, they approached their destination. She halted their small column in sight of the 'gate, but still under concealment. From that vantage point, the 'gate looked unguarded, but they new better than to trust blindly.

The team knelt around O'Neill, waiting for orders. "Teal'c, Carter, you clear the area. Daniel, wait here with me."

Carter and Teal'c nodded, and Sam gestured for Teal'c to take the right hand side of the clearing. They each circled one edge, meeting up again on the far side from where O'Neill and Daniel waited on the other side of the Stargate itself. At Teal'c's quick nod, Sam spoke into her walkie, "All clear, sir."

Across from them, Daniel broke cover, running to the DHD to begin punching in the coordinates. As he was finishing the dialing sequence, a shot rang out from O'Neill's direction. A moment later, his voice screamed through Sam's earpiece, "Back-up would be good, NOW!"

More shots. Sam was already moving, having gestured for Teal'c to join Daniel while she raced back along the edge of the clearing to support O'Neill. As she ran, she could see Jack ahead of her, crouching behind a fallen log for cover, returning fire on a small squad of Jaffa who had snuck up on his six.

From her angle, she had a clear field of fire. Dropping quickly into the prone position, she got off several quick shots in succession. The squad dropped to the ground in front of her. Sam was pretty sure her shots had landed, but you know what they say about assumptions.

O'Neill spoke through her earpiece again, "Cover me, Carter."

"Yes, sir."

She kept her rifle trained on the fallen Jaffa as O'Neill stood up and, still crouching, moved forwards. He quickly checked the bodies before standing up fully.

"All clear," came his conclusion into her ear.

She nodded. As he moved to join her, she turned to look back over her shoulder at Daniel and Teal'c's progress. They had opened the 'gate and were crouched next to the DHD, ready to leave or assist as needed. She looked back at the Colonel. "Time to go, sir?"

He nodded, "Yeah, Carter. Let's get the he…" His gaze flew to something off to her right, away from the 'gate, in the direction of the village. "Carter!" O'Neill covered the final distance between them in a leap, pushing Sam to the ground beneath him. The sound of a staff blast echoed across the clearing. It was followed quickly by the report of several gunshots.

"Got 'em." Daniel's overly optimistic remarks came just as more staff blasts rang out from the other side of the clearing.

O'Neill rolled off her with a low groan, and Sam's uniform was wet and sticky where he had lain on her. He tried to struggle to his feet, but she pulled him back down. "Carter…"

"Sir… You've been shot."

He nodded through clenched teeth, "No shit."

She looked back out across the clearing, "And we're cut off from the 'gate."

He nodded again, wordlessly, and she could tell from a vagueness in his eyes that the pain was starting to get the better of him. Damn. "Daniel?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Can you still get to the 'Gate?"

"Yeah, why?" Then, realizing what she meant, "No, Sam. We can hold it, you and Jack—"

"He's been hit."

"Oh. God. Is he…?"

She tried to keep her rising panic out of her voice. "He's… alive. I don't know how badly he's been injured." She glanced over at Jack, lying next to her and clutching his side, uselessly trying to hide his pain. He was going nowhere fast. She made her decision. "Daniel, you and Teal'c get back through the 'gate. Let General Hammond know what's up and he can arrange a rescue. Hopefully, the Jaffa don't know we've split up and will assume we've all left."

"Sam—"

"Just do it, Daniel," she ordered, clearly imagining him nodding in resignation.

"Yeah. Take care of him, Sam. And take care of yourself."

Teal'c broke into the conversation, "We will return shortly, Major Carter."

"Thanks… Now go."

Across the clearing, she could see them break cover from the DHD and leap back through the 'gate, the blast of staff weapons following them even after the 'gate had been shut from the other side. She and Jack were alone on a planet filled with Jaffa, he was injured she didn't know how badly, and she had no idea what to do next: just another day on SG-1.

Rolling over to Jack, she began to check his vitals and the extent of his injuries.


	3. Talking

For the second night in a row, Sam watched as Colonel O'Neill slept. This time, however, only a fraction of her attention was spared for keeping watch. He looked so pale in the firelight; his dark eyelashes contrasted sharply with the white skin of his cheeks; his lips were dry and bloodless. She forced down her rising despair at seeing him so quickly reduced to helplessness.

The Colonel shivered despite the warmth of the evening and the heat of the fire, and Sam tucked the blanket more firmly around him. She reached forward to check his forehead; he still felt hot beneath her palm, what medicine the natives possessed having proved nearly useless against the infection raging within him. Thank god she had been able to get him back to the village. As she'd hoped, the Jaffa assumed the entire team had made it back through the 'gate and didn't look too thoroughly for anyone else. So she and the Colonel had fortunately remained undiscovered, and she had watched from hiding as the Jaffa collected their naquadah 'tribute' and returned through the 'gate.

Unfortunately, probably suspecting the Tauri might return, the Jaffa had kept a squad on guard at the 'gate, making escape that way impossible and while the staff blast which hit the Colonel had missed anything vital, it was still a nasty flesh wound, especially considering her limited medical supplies. By the time she had finally managed to get the bleeding stopped and the bandage placed, the Colonel had lost a lot of blood -- a _lot_ of blood. As if that didn't scare her enough, by the time she'd helped him back to the village – a process which had gotten steadily harder until she'd been afraid they wouldn't make it at all – the Colonel was shaking uncontrollably and was decidedly hot to the touch. Something had gotten into the wound before she could clean it, and she had only a small emergency supply of antibiotics with her, all of which were proving as useless as the native's own medicines.

So Sam was forced to sit and wait, praying that Jack could hold on until General Hammond got together a large enough rescue operation to break through the Jaffa at the 'gate and come rescue them. She only hoped it would be soon enough for the Colonel.

As if sensing her thoughts, Jack stirred, his eyelids fluttering open, his gaze darting around the room, searching. His eyes fixed on her. "Carter?"

She leaned over him, taking his warm hands in her cool ones, thankful that she could at least give him that here. His fingers curled around hers, and he smiled gratefully. "Yes, Sir. I'm here," she answered.

Jack's eyes closed with a sigh, and he visibly relaxed. After a moment, he looked up at her again, "Daniel and Teal'c?"

"They made it through, sir. I expect they're working on getting together some reinforcements as we speak." She smiled, trying to reassure him, but Sam could tell even this brief exchange was exhausting him. "Colonel, you should try to get some sleep." He nodded, his eyes drifted closed, and moments later he was asleep.

Later, the intervening time having blurred into countless blanket tucks and cool washcloths for his forehead, Jack stirred again. "Carter?"

"I'm still here, sir."

"What happened, Major?"

"We were ambushed, sir, as we were going back through the 'gate. We took out one squad, but a second hit our flank."

"Oh." She could see his eyes widen as memory returned. He glanced up sharply at her, "Are you okay?"

She smiled, nodding, "Yes, sir. Thanks to you, I'm fine."

He weakly returned the smile, though it barely made it past the pain in his eyes. "Good, there's that at least." His eyelids slid closed as he spoke the last word.

"Sir?" She tried not to let her concern show, but she knew she had failed.

His eyes opened, finding hers again. "I'll be okay, Carter."

"Yes, sir." She was determined to make his words true, and she would do anything to help him – get him whatever he needed to get through the night. "Is there anything I can get you, sir?" She half-rose as she asked the question, but stopped as Jack's hand tightened around her fingers. The look in his eyes was worse than anything she had yet seen. For one terrifying moment, fever induced panic overrode the pain in their depths.

"Don't go, Carter. Please. Stay with me."

She couldn't resist his need. Sam sat back down, gathering both his hands in her own. "I'm here, sir. I won't go anywhere."

He nodded, and let his eyes drift closed again. Several silent moments passed, until Sam was convinced Jack had fallen back asleep. Suddenly, though, he jerked awake, eyes flying open. "Sam?"

She squeezed his hands. "Right here, sir."

Jack's breath rasped out through his teeth. He nodded, and his breathing slowly returned to normal. His eyes did not close, however. Instead, he lay watching her in the near darkness.

"Sir," she finally said. "You need to sleep."

He shook his head. "I'm not tired."

"Sir." She knew he was lying, and he had to know she knew. "You need to sleep," she repeated.

He nodded, but his eyes remained open, watching her and she suddenly understood what had woken him earlier, and what kept him awake now. She understood because she had had similar dreams herself. She spoke as if to a small child: "Sir, if you don't close your eyes and try to sleep Right This Minute, I swear I'll have to try something drastic."

Despite his obvious pain, the corners of Jack's mouth turned up in a wry smile, though his eyes remained stubbornly open. "What?"

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"What do you know about naquadah reactors?"

"What?" This was clearly the last thing on earth -- or off it for that matter -- he had expected to hear.

"Naquadah reactors. You know, the reason we're here. I just realized that this might be a good time to go over some of the basics with you. Who knows when we'll get another opportunity? And, since you're determined to stay awake…"

"Carter…" he groaned.

"Good, then, first of all…" and so, throughout the hours of that long night, Sam proceeded to educate Jack on the basic science and engineering behind the naquadah reactor. Several times during her lecture Sam thought the Colonel had finally fallen back into his feverish sleep, but each time she let her voice trail off he tossed fretfully, and she was forced to continue talking to quiet him.

At some point, however, they must have both dozed off. Sam woke to find her head pillowed upon the Colonel's broad chest, having clearly fallen forward during the night. As she blinked the sleep out of her eyes, Jack's opened as well, still dazed with fever as they looked straight into hers.

Her immediate instinct at finding herself so close to him was to pull back, but he caught her behind the neck, pulling her still closer. "Sir… I…" she protested as he brought her face to within inches of her own.

He clearly did NOT hear her. His lips found hers, his mouth feverishly hot beneath hers as he held her close. It was a dream, only better. Jack tasted better than in any dream, sweeter and hotter, the pressure of his tongue more possessive, claiming her more thoroughly than in even her wildest dreams--

A part of her – the rational part that was still barely able to think – knew this was just the fever. Knew Jack likely had no idea who she was or where they were, that he had somehow confused time and place and who knows what else. But for one brief wonderful moment she knew she would treasure for the rest of her life, Sam didn't care.

Then, all too soon, it was over. Jack released her from the kiss. He kept her close, however, pressed tightly against his shoulder. And faintly, so faintly it may just have been desperate imagination, Sam thought she heard him breathe into her hair, "I love you, Carter…" before he slipped back down into unconscious sleep.

Within a few hours, the rescue team finally did arrive, and when, still later, after the fever had broken and his wound was well on its way to healing, Jack admitted to having no clear memory of anything that had happened while he was feverish, all Sam felt was immense relief that they would still not have to deal with 'it'. Yeah. That was it. Exactly. Relief…


	4. Together

* * *

The bark of a dog pulled Sam back from her memories into the present. She barely had time to get to her feet and take a step towards the cabin's door before it was flung open from outside. Two small children bounded into the room, noisy in their excitement at finally being freed after the trip to Minnesota from D.C. An equally exuberant mixed breed mutt ran in behind them.

"Mom!" Her eldest Matthew called upon seeing her. "We're here!"

"I can see that—" she began, but was cut off from a voice at the door.

"And hear you," Jack said quietly from the cabin's entrance. "I thought I told you two to keep it down. Your brother is sleeping, for crying out loud."

Jack's concern seemed pointless. Carter stayed quiet in his arms, small blonde head tucked against his father's shoulder, oblivious to the noise in the way only a child with two older and very loud siblings could be.

"Sorry, Daddy," Denny apologized, having turned her own volume down nearly imperceptibly. Still, she'd tried. Sam glanced across at Jack, the sparkle in his eyes letting her know he was having as much trouble hiding his amusement as she was.

She held out her arms for Carter. It had been a long week. "Here, let me take him. You and these two hooligans can unpack the jumper while I get him settled."

Jack winked at her, "Yes, ma'am." Turning to the two older children, he ordered, "Here that, you two. We've got our orders." And he pushed the two kids out the door in front of him, followed closely by the dog.

Sam carried Carter into the kids' bedroom and placed him on his small cot. She finished tucking the blanket around him and as she kissed his smooth forehead, Jack spoke quietly from behind her, "Hey, gorgeous."

She stood up and turned to him, smiling, "Hi." She couldn't help but compare this Jack to the Colonel of her memories. Brown hair had gone completely silver in the intervening years, the lines around eyes and mouth more pronounced, but the quickness of his smile and the sparkle in his eyes made him look somehow younger despite these evident signs of age.

As if reading her thoughts, Jack wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I've got the kids gathering firewood…" he began.

She chuckled softly as she crossed to him, "Don't you ever think of anything else?"

He whined in a perfect imitation of Matthew as he gathered her into his arms. "But… it's been a week…" Then, obviously recollecting the reason behind their separation, he asked, "Hey, ya finish your book?"

She nodded, "Yup. All done."

"Sweet. All about naquadah reactors, right?"

She nodded again.

He asked, too innocently as she later realized, "Do you want me to check it over for you?"

"Jack, thanks, but what do you know about naquadah reactors?"

He smiled down at her, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "As you may recall, a certain hot young Air Force Major once described them rather thoroughly to me one night on P3X--… something or other…"

Her mouth fell open in shock, and his smile grew still broader at her reaction. "I thought you'd forgot—"

Jack interrupted her, bringing his face nearly to hers before whispering, "I could never forget this—" And any response Sam might have made was lost as Jack closed the final distance between them, his mouth claiming hers in a kiss which, even after all this time, still made all rational thoughts impossible.


End file.
